Child car seats recalled over safety fears

Leading manufacturer Recaro is recalling some of its child car seat products over safety concerns.

The company has announced the move after tests revealed that a particular batch of its fix bases - used with the child seat Optia and the infant carrier Privia - did not meet quality standards.

During testing, it was found that a particular production batch of the Recaro fix base does not meet the quality standards of Recaro Child Safety even though it fulfills the ECE-R44/04 approval standard. This means that the hooks that connect the Recaro fix base and child seat may deform, causing the seat to become separated from the base, if carrying a lot of weight.

Affected products have the serial numbers ER01000000 up to and including ER01017825. No other Recaro fix base stations are affected by this problem.

The company said: “For Recaro Child Safety, customer safety is the top priority. For this reason the company is offering all customers who own a Recaro fix base with the corresponding serial numbers a free product exchange.

“Although use of the Recaro fix base in conjunction with the Privia is possible without restriction, the company recommends replacement regardless of whether the product is currently used in combination with the child seat Optia or with the infant carrier Privia. This will ensure that future use in combination with the child seat Optia is possible without worries.”

Serial numbers can be found on the bottom of the Recaro fix base or on the packaging box. You can also find out online if your product is affected by visiting http://safety.recaro-cs.com.